There were whispers of Russian collusion at the beginning of President Donald Trump’s campaign.

Adding to the list of controversies, there are three failed travel ban attempts, complaints about his comments to a military widow and issues with the way he responded to a neo-Nazi rally with counter-protestors.

According to James Thurber, professor of government at American University, one unique aspect to the Trump presidency – and the controversies surrounding it – are his tweets.

Thurber said the tweets gave Trump over $6.8 billion in free media during the campaign. That was unique because instead of having the media spread Trump’s ideas and actions, Trump did that himself on Twitter, Thurber said.

“He uses the tweets as a way to get involved with things he shouldn’t get involved with,” Thurber said.

Why would Kim Jong-un insult me by calling me "old," when I would NEVER call him "short and fat?" Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend – and maybe someday that will happen!

According to Thurber, Trump’s election was among the biggest controversies, since it was so unexpected by most experts. Thurber said he was among the experts who predicted Hillary Clinton would win the 2016 presidential election.

“It was a populist election, there were lots of people that were very angry,” Thurber said. “The depth of that anger was a shock.”

What followed was a spiral of new information and doubts about Trump’s relationship with Russia, leading back decades of suspicious business arrangements. From campaign contact to possible Russian hacking and interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

James Comey, then-director of the FBI, started an investigation into Trump’s Russia connections.

Steven Harper, an adjunct professor at Northwestern University, created an interactive timeline that tracks every instance of involvement between Trump and Russia.

“Up to and including the firing of James Comey, Trump did everything he could to try to shut down, slow down or stop the investigation,” Harper said in an interview.

Harper’s theory is that Russia probed Trump during his first trip to the Soviet Union in 1988, looking to make him into an operative for Russia. The first mention of Trump running for president occurred right after he returned from this trip, Harper said.

“The most damning explanation is that the Russians launched a sophisticated intelligence operation,” Harper said. “They found willing partners up and down the line throughout the Trump organization. And up and down throughout the Trump organization, as the details of that intelligence operation became known, the participants lied about it, lied about its existence, lied about their personal involvement in it and now they are all facing serious criminal jeopardy as a result.”